Late Pleistocene to Holocene human palaeoecology in the tropical environments of coastal eastern Africa

Roberts, Patrick; Prendergast, Mary E.; Janzen, Anneke; Shipton, Ceri; Blinkhorn, James; Zech, Jana; Crowther, Alison; Sawchuk, Elizabeth A.; Stewart, Mathew; Ndiema, Emmanuel; Petraglia, Michael D.; Boivin, Nicole

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109438

Cited by 40 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…Given their habitat and dietary differences [55,56], taxonomic identifications of bovids beyond the family level are crucial for inferring past environments [57][58][59][60][61][62][63]. Species-level identifications are most effective, allowing for detailed morphological studies that can further clarify environmental context [64,65], but broad identifications to tribe or subfamily can still provide useful information, particularly in poorly preserved or small assemblages in which few specimens are morphologically identifiable to genus or species.…”

Section: Faunal Identifications and Key Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): New peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia

et al. 2021

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Assessing past foodways, subsistence strategies, and environments depends on the accurate identification of animals in the archaeological record. The high rates of fragmentation and often poor preservation of animal bones at many archaeological sites across sub-Saharan Africa have rendered archaeofaunal specimens unidentifiable beyond broad categories, such as “large mammal” or “medium bovid”. Identification of archaeofaunal specimens through Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), or peptide mass fingerprinting of bone collagen, offers an avenue for identification of morphologically ambiguous or unidentifiable bone fragments from such assemblages. However, application of ZooMS analysis has been hindered by a lack of complete reference peptide markers for African taxa, particularly bovids. Here we present the complete set of confirmed ZooMS peptide markers for members of all African bovid tribes. We also identify two novel peptide markers that can be used to further distinguish between bovid groups. We demonstrate that nearly all African bovid subfamilies are distinguishable using ZooMS methods, and some differences exist between tribes or sub-tribes, as is the case for Bovina (cattle) vs. Bubalina (African buffalo) within the subfamily Bovinae. We use ZooMS analysis to identify specimens from extremely fragmented faunal assemblages from six Late Holocene archaeological sites in Zambia. ZooMS-based identifications reveal greater taxonomic richness than analyses based solely on morphology, and these new identifications illuminate Iron Age subsistence economies c. 2200–500 cal BP. While the Iron Age in Zambia is associated with the transition from hunting and foraging to the development of farming and herding, our results demonstrate the continued reliance on wild bovids among Iron Age communities in central and southwestern Zambia Iron Age and herding focused primarily on cattle. We also outline further potential applications of ZooMS in African archaeology.

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Section: Faunal Identifications and Key Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): New peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia

et al. 2021

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“…Stable oxygen isotopes. Sampling protocols and analysis procedures for stable oxygen isotope analysis of enamel carbonate follow those set out in Roberts et al [173] (see also [174][175][176]). Teeth were cleaned to remove adhering material using air-abrasion, and a diamondtipped drill was used to obtain a powder sample.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

et al. 2021

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The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000–1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first ‘international age’, characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana.

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“…A range of local paleoenvironmental proxies, including stable isotopes on mammal teeth, tetrapod, and molluscan fauna, phytoliths, sedimentology, and magnetic susceptibility [ 37 , 38 ], indicate a degree of continuity in tropical forest/woodland and grasslands through time. There was generally low variability in environmental conditions, with transitions between open/closed woodland environments.…”

Section: Site Location and Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

67,000 years of coastal engagement at Panga ya Saidi, eastern Africa

et al. 2021

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The antiquity and nature of coastal resource procurement is central to understanding human evolution and adaptations to complex environments. It has become increasingly apparent in global archaeological studies that the timing, characteristics, and trajectories of coastal resource use are highly variable. Within Africa, discussions of these issues have largely been based on the archaeological record from the south and northeast of the continent, with little evidence from eastern coastal areas leaving significant spatial and temporal gaps in our knowledge. Here, we present data from Panga ya Saidi, a limestone cave complex located 15 km from the modern Kenyan coast, which represents the first long-term sequence of coastal engagement from eastern Africa. Rather than attempting to distinguish between coastal resource use and coastal adaptations, we focus on coastal engagement as a means of characterising human relationships with marine environments and resources from this inland location. We use aquatic mollusc data spanning the past 67,000 years to document shifts in the acquisition, transportation, and discard of these materials, to better understand long-term trends in coastal engagement. Our results show pulses of coastal engagement beginning with low-intensity symbolism, and culminating in the consistent low-level transport of marine and freshwater food resources, emphasising a diverse relationship through time. Panga ya Saidi has the oldest stratified evidence of marine engagement in eastern Africa, and is the only site in Africa which documents coastal resources from the Late Pleistocene through the Holocene, highlighting the potential archaeological importance of peri-coastal sites to debates about marine resource relationships.

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Late Pleistocene to Holocene human palaeoecology in the tropical environments of coastal eastern Africa

Cited by 40 publications

References 130 publications

Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): New peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia

Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): New peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

67,000 years of coastal engagement at Panga ya Saidi, eastern Africa

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